They Came to Believe

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers at their business. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all, with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple; and he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; you shall not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for thy house will consume me.” (John 2:13-17)

The Gospel of John places this story right after the wedding feast at Cana, as Jesus’ ministry was just beginning. His disciples, who had been drawn so compellingly to Jesus in the days following His baptism, were there in Cana and witnessed His first miracle: how ordinary water became wine at His command. Now, as they entered the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, they were not surprised to see the merchants and money changers. Business was always brisk during holy days and festivals. But when Jesus began to gather up some cords and twist them into a whip, His disciples must have been stunned. What was He planning to do with that whip? St. John doesn’t tell us whether they joined Him as He upset tables and chased out the animals, or whether they stood back, wide-eyed, puzzled and amazed at His actions. There must have been lots of confusion and yelling, but Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip and Nathanael could hear Jesus’ courageous reply to the Jews who questioned His authority: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2: 19). The gospel writer makes it clear that the disciples were already beginning to “get it,” to understand what Jesus was all about. “His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for thy house will consume me’” (John 2:17). They could see how that verse from Psalm 69 pointed directly to Jesus.

The daily readings at Mass often demonstrate the connection between the Old Testament and the New. Like Jesus’ disciples, we can clearly see how the words and actions of Christ were foretold by the prophets, and how the Law of Moses was beginning to give way to the Law of Love taught by Jesus. It’s all right there, so that we can read it, ponder it and understand it. Then the Good News will begin to change our lives, just as it changed the lives of Jesus’ first disciples and every generation that followed. Scripture scholars and saints have done most of the work already. What remains for us is to listen and take it all in with open minds that are eager to know more and with hearts that long for a deeper relationship with God.

Two more Passovers would come and go before the first disciples would see the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to raise up the temple, but the impression of that day and of His words remained with them always. “Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken” (John 2: 22). They remembered what He said; they came to believe, and then they changed the world. To God be the glory.